al-Risala li-Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani
- Author died
- 386 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr
al-Risala (The Epistle) is a foundational manual of Islamic jurisprudence and creed according to the Maliki school, composed by the North African jurist Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani (310–386 AH / 922–996 CE) .
Context and Composition
Ibn Abi Zayd composed al-Risala in his youth, reportedly in 327 AH at the age of seventeen, making it his earliest written work . According to one account, the work was requested by Mihriz ibn Khalaf . In his preface, the author explains that he prepared the concise handbook at the request of an inquirer wishing to teach youth the fundamental tenets and practical duties of Islam—just as they are taught the letters of the Quran—while also serving adults in need of foundational religious knowledge .
Structure and Content
The work uniquely combines the major creedal foundations (al-fiqh al-akbar) with practical jurisprudence (furu'), structured systematically according to the school of Malik ibn Anas . It contains approximately four thousand legal questions :
- Creed (Aqida): The opening section, titled Bab ma tantiqu bihi al-alsinah wa-ta‘taqiduhu al-af’idah min wajib umur al-diyanat (Chapter on what tongues must utter and hearts must believe regarding the obligations of religion), presents Islamic dogma in line with the early generations (al-salaf) . It articulates divine unity, the affirmation of God's attributes without allegorical interpretation, belief in prophecy, the resurrection, and the definition of faith as comprising belief in the heart, utterance by the tongue, and physical deeds .
- Jurisprudence and Manners: The remainder of the text sets forth essential legal rulings covering acts of worship (ritual purity, prayer, fasting, zakat, and pilgrimage), commercial transactions, marriage and family law, as well as supererogatory acts, sunnas, and Islamic etiquette (adab) .
Reception and Commentaries
al-Risala achieved wide dissemination during its author's lifetime and became a standard primer for teaching Maliki jurisprudence across the Islamic world . The book was so sought after that copies were written in gold, and the first copy brought to Baghdad was purchased in the circle of Abu Bakr al-Abhari for twenty gold dinars . Shihab al-Din al-Qarafi identified it as one of five key texts around which Maliki legal study revolved across both the East and the West .
More than one hundred commentaries were written on the work . Early engagement began with Abu Bakr al-Abhari, who traced the textual evidence of its legal rulings in his work Masalik al-jalala fi isnad ahadith al-Risala, followed by a commentary by al-Qadi Abd al-Wahhab . Other prominent commentators include Ahmad Zarruq, Ibn Naji al-Tanukhi, Abu al-Hasan al-Manufi (Kifayat al-talib al-rabbani), al-Nafrawi (al-Fawakih al-dawani), and Salih Abd al-Sami' al-Azhari (al-Thamar al-dani) . In modern times, the text has also been translated into English, French, and Berber .
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